We all know who the Dragons Den Investors are don’t we? Willing to Invest their own money in exchange for business capital….

However from 1st time Entrepreneurs to seasoned startup and business professionals, you don’t need to appear on TV and deal with the lights and camera’s to get the action of some much needed business capital. Commonly known as ‘Angels’ these companies or network organisations are set up to do exactly what the Dragon’s demonstrate on TV….

TheEmployable are currently considering their own options for initial business set up. Therefore we thought it
 would be a good idea to highlight some of the related angel organisations and groups that exists currently in the market place, if this is an avenue you wish to explore if you are an entrepreneur looking for a little bit of ‘angel dust’. Check out the list below and also let TheEmployable know if there are additional resources and angels out there that we should have added to this list:

http://www.angelsden.co.uk/ Angels Den exists to help entrepreneurs and SME owners get the investment they need to take their businesses into high growth.

http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk/home www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk is a web-based matching service for angel investors seeking investment opportunities and entrepreneurs seeking capital. The website is owned by Angel Investment Network Ltd, a London-based investment company founded in 2004.

http://www.bigissueinvest.com/ Big Issue Invest is a specialised provider of finance to social enterprises or trading arms of charities that are finding business solutions that create social and environmental transformation.

http://www.angelnews.co.uk/ AngelNews is the leading European news service for the investment market, especially for business angels, investors and the companies they back. They report news through their
website on over 1,800 fast growing businesses, and every day we break exciting news about the great companies of tomorrow. As well as reporting news on fast growing businesses, they help companies looking for funding to advertise their investment opportunities to a network of investors, business angels and venture capitalists.

http://www.cainuk.com The Creative Arts Investment Network (CAIN) is an independent business angel network for the creative arts sector. CAIN is serious about the business and commercial opportunities that exist within the UK creative arts industry and they are committed to increasing the level of business angel investment into this diverse and interesting sector.

http://www.seedcamp.com/ Seedcamp is a micro seed fund investing in Europe’s best early stage entrepreneurs in the internet technology sector. Through their mini Seedcamp events all over the world, they find the strongest companies, bringing them to London for Seedcamp Week. The top teams will receive an investment of 50.000€, move to London, and build their business to the next level.

http://www.venturegiant.com/ Venture Giant is a leading online solution that matches serious & active business investors with entrepreneurs seeking investment to start-up their business or expand their existing company.

http://www.seedups.com UK office is based in Derry, in NI, Letterkenny in the Republic and in the US. Matching 793 Startups with 338 Investorsproviding £ 21,451,000 in Start-up Capital Funding so far!

http://www.bbaa.org.uk/ The British Business Angels Association (BBAA) is the national trade association dedicated to promoting angel investing and supporting early stage investment in the UK. BBAA works to create an ecosystem to help support the industry through bringing together angel networks, private investors, early stage funds and professional advisors. Check out their Member Directory if you are looking to speak to a regional Angel Network or organisation or a Venture Capitalist  http://www.bbaa.org.uk/member-directory

http://hban.org/ Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) is an all-island umbrella group for business angel investing in Ireland. They focus on creating Angel Investor syndicates, across Ireland.

http://www.nesta.org.uk/home1 NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts – an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. NESTA’s Creative Industries team
seeks to enable those in the creative sector to improve their business expertise. It has set up a number of mentoring schemes across industries such as video games, fashion and film, to help creatives bring their ideas to market. They invest in early-stage companies, inform policy, and deliver practical programmes that inspire others to solve the big challenges of the future.

http://www.londonfundingconference.com/about-funding/business-angel-funding This is a really good list of angel investors groups across various industry sectors that exist in the UK that I found when researching the subject. Its probably not comprehensive, but a good starting point mind you.

Please bear in mind that TheEmployable are not business experts in using Angel Investors, nor do we pretend that this list is anything more than a starting point of directory of groups and support networks that we have researched.  Please feel free to give TheEmployable any advice if you feel that there should be any additional information added…

Happy hunting, whether you find Dragons, Angels or decide to just say “I’m out”…

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